Unidentified Aerial Objects: Why Balloons Are Now in the Spotlight

WASHINGTON — A huge Chinese balloon that flew over the United States and caught the attention of an alarmed domestic and international public has changed Americans’ perceptions of everything in the air and how whose defense officials monitor and control him, they respond.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States is updating its guidelines for monitoring and responding to the presence of unidentified aerial objects. It comes after the discovery of an alleged Chinese spy balloon whose tour of the country sparked high-profile drama that included the downing of that device and three smaller ones days later.

Biden said authorities suspect the following three artifacts are normal. In other words, they can be research, meteorological, recreational or commercial balloons. Authorities were unable to recover the remains of the three, and on Friday night the military announced it had ended a search for the downed objects near Deadhorse, Alaska, and above. of Lake Huron on February 10 and 12.

These episodes opened the eyes of the population to two realities:

First: China has an aerial surveillance program linked to its military that has targeted more than 40 countries, according to the White House. Beijing denies it.

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Here’s a look at why there are so many balloons – launched for war, weather, science, business or just for fun – why they’re in the spotlight now and why the United States might take the lead. road. and respond to your presence.

WHAT ARE ALL THESE BALLOONS DOING?

Some are there to spy or to fight. Humans have attached bombs to balloons since at least the 1840s, when winds blew some of the craft thrown over Venice back to the Austrians. During the American Civil War, Union and Confederate soldiers flew over the front lines in balloons to assess enemy positions and direct attacks.

And when it comes to peaceful uses, their low cost makes them the aerial platform of choice for all uses, serious and leisure. That even includes “fraternities with nothing better to do and $10,000,” joked Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Himes’ role on the committee involved him in a congressional-mandated military and intelligence review of the most credible sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. The analysis made them understand “the amount of things that float, especially balloons,” he said.

For the National Weather Service, they are its main forecasting resource: the balloons are launched twice a day from nearly 900 locations around the world, including nearly 100 in the United States.

High-altitude balloons also help scientists observe space from the far reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. NASA has a national program that, from East Texas and elsewhere, helps coordinate launches by universities, foreign groups, and other research programs. School science classes launch balloons and so do wildlife watchers.

Behind this activity, there are also commercial interests, such as Google’s initiative to offer the Internet using giant balloons.

And for the modest sum of $12, radio amateurs or those who launch them for the simple pleasure of tracking them can equip themselves with devices capable of reaching at least 12,000 meters (40,000 feet).

This is the approximate altitude at which, according to the military, were the three small balloons destroyed by the American missiles.

Most pilots might not even perceive a collision with such a craft, said Ron Meadows, who makes balloons – with emitters the size of a Popsicle stick – for high school and college science lessons.

The only thing they do is “report their location and speed… They are not a threat to anyone”, he added.

A balloon reported missing by the Bottlecao Brigade in northern Illinois is suspected among fans to be one of those shot down, as Aviation Week Network first reported. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday the government could not confirm that information.

And it’s not just American Mylar, aluminum foil and plastic. So-called westerly winds carry soot from Beijing tailpipes to the remnants of the Siberian wildfires over the Arctic and the United States. China claims that its enormous weather and research balloon was deflected by these currents. According to the United States, the craft was, at least in part, manoeuvrable.

WHY ARE YOU SEEING ALL THESE BALLOONS NOW?

The short answer is because they are looking for each other now.

Attention to these devices around the world has increased in recent years. Congress instructed the Director of National Intelligence to gather everything the government knew about the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. This included the creation of a specific task force within the Ministry of Defence.

Last year, during the first congressional hearing on unidentified aerial objects in half a century, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott W. Bray told lawmakers that improved sensors, increased drones and Other civilian drone systems and, yes, “air chaos” that included balloons, led the population to identify more of these objects.

Awareness skyrocketed this month when the US military and the public spotted the Chinese balloon coming from the far north. Although Washington says other Chinese balloons have entered its territory in the past, this is the first to slowly fly over the country in plain sight.

That device, and authorities’ growing alert to a Chinese military-linked surveillance balloon campaign that has affected dozens of countries, has prompted U.S. officials to change radar and other sensor settings and examine closer objects that move slowly in the air, as well as other faster.

ARE SIDEWINDER MISSILES A LONG-TERM STRATEGY?

After the Chinese balloon episode, U.S. defense officials are expected to conduct more extensive surveillance to keep these devices on the radar, but fine-tune the response.

Biden’s order to the Air Force to shoot down the three small objects with Sidewinder missiles has earned him criticism from Republicans who believe he was too quick in his request. The president pointed out that the four shootings were justified since the balloons could have posed a danger to civil aviation.

Amateur balloons that have only a few kilos (pounds) of payload are not covered by many FAA aerospace regulations.

Biden says “more precise standards” are being developed to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects. In addition, he appointed National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to lead an interagency team to review procedures.